The Hunter
by Jack Cross
Summary: For the longest time, Charlie has been on his own. But now, he's found himself in the middle of the Second Titan War, working the gritty jobs more average heroes can't or won't do. A terror to the forces of Kronos, an unsung hero to the forces of Olympus, killer of mortals, demigods, and monsters alike. He's known only by his codename: The Hunter.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, I'm here with what I can only describe as a spin off of my other Percy Jackson fanfiction. This means that yes, they take place within the same timeline, and yes the main character from this one and the Son of Fire will cross paths.**

 **I do not, in any way shape or form own the Percy Jackson series.**

 _Somewhere in Northern Arizona._

A young deer slowly raised its head and looked about in the pine trees. Its ears twitched for a moment as its dark eyes scanned the forest around it. Before it could react, an arrow pierced its side. The deer let out a high pitched squeal before it fell dead, the arrow having pierced it's heart. After a moment of silence, a teenager dropped from the branches of a tree.

The oilskin poncho he wore was a dark brown color, perfect for blending in with the undergrowth or the trees. His bow, clutched in his hand, was made of a sturdy dark wood, as were the arrows in the quiver across his back. His hair was cut short and a dull copper color, about the color of old penny. Like a lion stalking its prey through the grass, the young hunter moved through the waist high grass with a silent grace as he came upon his kill.

Yanking the arrow free of the buck, the hunter returned it to it's place in the quiver before he slung his bow over his midsection. Picking the creature's body up and draping it over his shoulders, he set off through the forest in total silence. A light snow began to fall, but he ignored it as he went.

It wasn't far to his camp, which consisted of a small clearing in the middle of the forest. His tent was a large teepee style made from a combination of leathers and hides, and his campfire consisted of a small pit with a dutch oven suspended over the flames. Dropping the deer from his shoulders, the hunter took a moment to add a few logs to the fire before he set to skinning his prey. He did his work quickly, as the snow was starting to pick up. He lay the hide out to dry, while he set to cooking the meat in his oven.

"I thought you came south to avoid the snow," came a female voice. The hunter jumped, holding the knife he had been using stir the pot like he was ready to throw it. A girl about the age of twelve with auburn hair was standing next to his tent.

"I did. Utah is buried under snow right now," he replied, returning to preparing his meal.

"You've come a long way from where you were five years ago, Charles," she said.

"If it's all the same, I prefer Charlie, milady." The girl gave him a look.

"You know you don't have to be so formal with me when we're alone," she said.

"You're a goddess, Lady Artemis," he replied, as if that settled it. Artemis continued to give him that look, a cross of patience and irritant.

"Is there something you needed?" Charlie asked, deciding to press forward. Artemis wasn't the kind to just drop buy for a random visit.

"Are you sure that I'm not just wanting to check up on you?" she asked. He cast a brief glance at her before returning to his cooking.

"You always have a reason beyond that." He heard the goddess sigh, but still didn't turn to face her.

"I came to warn you that it may soon be time to reveal your existence to the world," she said. That got his attention.

"What? But...why?" he asked, setting his knife to the side as he turned to fully face her. Charlie had spent so much time on his own that he was use to others not being around. In fact, he kind of preferred it that way.

"Things have changed. Forces that have been dormant for thousands of years are beginning to stir. I fear that war may be coming," she said.

"And what do you want me to do?" he asked.

"Go south to Phoenix, there's a demigod there that will require your assistance," Artemis said.

"Phoenix is a pretty big place, I'm gonna need a little more..." he paused as he turned, finding that the goddess had vanished. With a sigh, Charlie turned back to preparing his meal.

"Phoenix it is."

 _Camp Half Blood._ _One Month_ _Later._

"Come on, Clare, just a few more steps," Charlie said in a hurried tone. It was night out, and Charlie was standing on the steps of the Big House with his bow in his hands.

"I told you not to call me that," Clarisse La Rue growled as she made her way up the steps with a young man slung over her shoulder. In the week after Artemis had visited Charlie, the hunter had made his way south as instructed. By sheer luck, he'd managed to locate Clarisse, whom it turns out was on a scouting mission.

After explaining his reasoning for being there, Clarisse had explained the purpose of her mission. Her job had two objectives, the first was to locate the Titan Army that was attempting to use the underground maze of tunnels known as the Labyrinth to slip past the Camp's defenses, and the second was to slow them down once located.

The Daughter of Ares had only been somewhat successful in her mission. She'd located the guy she was carrying now, Chris Rodriguez, in the Labyrinth, not far from an entrance that was close to her mother's house. Rodriguez had been scout for the Titans, but had gotten lost in the tunnels and gone mad as a result.

This was where Charlie entered the scene. Together, the two of them focused on trying to destroy the entrance they knew for sure about, an old copper mine not too far from the city. They'd tried everything they could think of; jars of Greek fire, sticks of high explosives they'd stolen from a demolition company, even ramming a truck into the mine entrance in an effort to seal it off.

None of it worked, and in the end Clarisse had decided to cut her losses and head back to Camp to both report her findings and to get Chris the treatment he needed. Charlie had gone along with them, despite Clarisse's protests against it. Being a Daughter of Ares, she fell that she could handle the return trip by herself. That is, until Charlie pointed out the amount of tactical disadvantages she'd have. Traveling by herself was one thing, but doing this while constantly toting someone who was on the verge of becoming a vegetable was something else.

Thus, Charlie had argued that her mission stood a better chance of success if he was along to provide some kind of backup or over watch. Plus, he was curious to see this Camp Half Blood, although that was besides the matter. In the end, Clarisse had conceded his point, although there was no shortage of angry muttering under her breath for the good first half of the trip.

From Pennsylvania onward they had been hounded by monsters. Nothing the two of them couldn't handle, but persistent enough that they were still on guard even now inside the Camp boarders. Charlie had been up against monsters before, but this was the first time he'd had others around to save besides himself.

With his bow still at the ready, Charlie backed up to the entrance to the Big House and kicked his foot against the screen door like a mule kicking behind itself. After a moment, the door open and a man in a wheelchair appeared.

"Clarisse? Thank the gods, come inside, quickly," he said. The daughter of Ares hurried inside, with Charlie following close behind. Now that they had finally arrived, he took the arrow he had nocked on his bow and returned it to its quiver. Both Clarisse and the man in the wheelchair headed into a side room, which based on the beds contained inside was the Camp's infirmary.

The hunter hung back, choosing instead to sling his bow over his midsection and look around. He found himself standing near the fireplace, watching the flames that danced inside as he rubbed his hands together in an effort to warm them. It was the dead of winter now, only a few days shy of Christmas.

"I understand we have you to thank for Clarisse and Chris' safe return," the man in the wheelchair said as he rolled into the room.

"Just doing the job I was given," Charlie replied, not looking away from the flames.

"Yes, well, based upon what Ms. La Rue has told me, Lady Artemis must think very highly of you. I'm Chiron," he said, extending his hand to shake. Charlie narrowed his eyes as they shook.

"Charlie Theron. Chiron, as in the Centaur Trainer of Heroes? That Chiron?" he asked.

"Nothing's really changed over the past few thousand years in that aspect. However, these days I find myself training Heroes for war, not just basic survival," Chiron said.

"Artemis said something about war coming," Charlie noted.

"Yes. She would have better in sight into that more then most. Which brings us to our next topic, how would you like a job?" the Centaur asked.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Ms. La Rue's report has only confirmed my fears. The Titans are gathering every bit of resource they can claim and turning it toward their war effort. We're way behind in war preparations in almost every single aspect, and we need a way to curb the Titan's growth."

"You're talking about Black Ops," Charlie said.

"Sabotage, assassination, ordinarily I would consider these kind of tactics to be too barbaric for us to even consider under taking them, but given what's on the line, I'm willing to keep my options open," the old man said.

"Assassination. You're talking about killing mortals," Charlie said after several silent filled heartbeats. Chiron shifted uncomfortably in his chair. It was clear that he didn't like or approve of what he was putting forward.

"Based on what I've seen over the past month, you guys really need some help. I'll do it." The old Centaur sat up, visually stunned.

"You will? You do understand what you'll have to do, what will be required of you?"

"The fate of mankind is at stake, Mr. Chiron. All I'll be doing is switching which prey I hunt. And upgrading, if you guys have the means," he said, tapping his bow as he spoke.

"Yes, yes of course. The armory is at your disposal."

 _Just outside Oakland, California. One week later._

Charlie lay prone on the warehouse rooftop, ignoring the raindrops that pattered on the tarp that was draped over him. In his hands was a Marlin model 336, complete with a brand new scope. He'd found the rifle in the Camp's armory, neglected and worn down with several years worth of dust built up on it. After cleaning it up, getting the scope, and dialing it in, he'd had the head of the Hephaestus Cabin, Charles Beckendorf, put together several rounds for him. Half of them were celestial bronze for killing monsters, and the other half were normal.

Now he was here, not far from the Titan's base of operations hunting his first target. The main demigod who was overseeing the rebuild of the Titan forces was a Son of Hermies by the name of Luke Castellan. However, the latest reports that had been returned to Camp indicated that Castellan had taken a fall off a cliff, and though he had survived, he was recuperating on a cruise ship docked in San Francisco Bay. This made taking a shot at him all but impossible at the moment.

Charlie's target on this particularly miserable day at the end of December was a Lieutenant of Castellan, a son of Peitho by the name of Brandon Jenkins. Jenkins, being the child of the goddess of persuasion, was the Titan's primary negotiator. His job was to persuade groups that were having doubts about taking sides over to the side of the Titans. Today, he was meeting a small group of Cyclops that were defecting to Kronos' side. The Hunter had his mission; kill the negotiator, and then kill the traitor Cyclops.

Charlie watched as a small car pulled up in a wide open space between the warehouses. Jenkins climbed out of the back of the car and walked to the spot just in front of it. He couldn't see the driver, but that wasn't his concern at the moment. All that mattered to him was the young man in his early twenties that was currently in the center of his rifle scope.

He watched as the group of Cyclops emerged from a nearby warehouse and approached the agent of Kronos. As he counted, he silently cursed. There were seven Cyclops in the group, for a grand total of eight targets. This wouldn't have been a problem, except for the fact that his rifle was currently loaded with six monster killing shots plus one in the chamber, for a total of seven.

He was one bullet short.

Regardless of his sudden disadvantage, Charlie slowly raised his thumb and drew back on the hammer of his rifle, cocking it. The two sides were talking now, although he was too far away to hear what was being said. He simply lined up the crosshairs with his target and slowly exhaled before pulling the trigger.

The rifle jumped in his hands as it fired, the resulting crack echoing off the buildings around them. Jenkins was stuck in the heart and thrown backward onto the hood of the car before his body fell to the ground.

In an instant, there was a flurry of chaos. The driver of the car threw the vehicle into reverse and sped erratically out of there while the Cyclops looked about, trying to locate the source of the shot. Charlie had already lined up his next shot as he worked the action on his rifle. He exhaled and fired again, this time striking the leader in the eye. The creature hadn't even fully turned to dust before the next one was stuck. Charlie repeated the process until there was only one left.

Realizing that he was the only one of his brothers left, the remaining Cyclops began to run. The Hunter simply dropped the lever, slid a new round into the chamber, smoothly pulled the lever back up, and then fired. The bullet struck the Cyclops in the back of the head, before exploding out of its eye in the front. He was dust being blown away by the wind before he even hit the ground.

Picking up his spent casings, Charlie made his way down to the ground with his rifle slung over his back. The rain only increased in strength as he approached Jenkins, mixing the monster dust in with the mud on the ground. Blood flowed from the negotiator's body, mixing with the standing water and mud around him. To Charlie's surprise, the young man was still very much alive, clutching his wound with his hand as he lay on his back.

"Do you have...any idea...what you've done?" Jenkins panted as Charlie appeared above him.

"I've killed you," he replied, his voice flat and devoid of emotion.

"You've made...the Crooked One...an enemy. The Titans won't...hesitate...to cut you down," Jenkins gasped. From under his poncho, the hunter drew a climbing axe, giving it a single twirl in his hand. Without a word, he brought it down and ended the negotiator's life. With the death of his target now confirmed, Charlie returned the climbing axe to it's place on his belt.

"They'll have to catch me, first," he said.

 **And that's a wrap for the first chapter. As always, please feel free to read, review, let me know what you liked or didn't like, and I'll see you all in the next one.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter. If you like action, you'll enjoy this as Charlie experiences his first game of capture the flag. How will it turn out? Let's see:**

 _Camp Half Blood._

The sound of the morning conch horn echoed throughout the valley. Charlie awoke with a groan and gave a small stretch. He was sleeping on a cot in what could only be described as a small walk in closet in the Big House. Being as he was unclaimed, Charlie would have usually been stuck in the Hermes Cabin. But given the nature of his work, Chiron and him had worked out a deal that allowed him to say in the Big House when he wasn't out on a mission.

Sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the cot, Charlie scratched the back of his head as he allowed the last of the sleep to leave his brain. His sleepwear was an old pair of ratty jeans and nothing else. He wasn't overly toned, but he was lean thanks to a strict diet and going long periods without eating anything at all.

Slipping on a pair of old beat up black combat boots and a t shirt, Charlie stood and was ready to face the day. Or, just to get breakfast. Mainly breakfast. Under normal circumstances he would have just walked to the dining pavilion barefoot, but after seeing some of the piles of refuse that the cleaning harpies had left behind, he figured that having something on his feet was the way to go.

It was early spring now, a little over three months since his first mission in Oakland. Since then he'd been on at least half a dozen more, taking him to all corners of the country. Some were assassination, some were reconnaissance, some were a hybrid of the two. When he wasn't on a mission, he was usually here, planning out his next one with Clarisse.

The daughter of Ares was one of the few friends he'd made here at Camp. She was also one of the best planners when it came to combat, and one of the few campers outside of Chiron and himself who knew about the nature of his missions. She didn't really approve of the whole shadow tactics scheme, preferring open combat instead. But she did understand the importance they played in the war effort, which was why she was helping him.

There was also the possibility that Clarisse was a little lonely, although she would never admit it. Her attitude as the head of the Ares Cabin had earned her the title of camp bully. Although she was defiantly deserving of this title, she often found herself longing for some kind of friendship beyond that of her siblings. Her stubborn pride, however, usually ruined any chance at that. Until she had met Charlie that is.

The two had learned to be a team, both on the field and off of it. In exchange for her help on his missions, Charlie would help with her project on the Labyrinth, usually in the form of reporting entrances he'd located during his travels. Their friendship had also grown over time, to the point where Clarisse didn't threaten him with death whenever he'd made a joke.

On this particular morning, Charlie didn't see Clarisse as he walked into the dining pavilion. A lot of the other campers were there though, talking amongst themselves at their tables. Charlie didn't pay them any mind, but rather walked up to the Hermes table and snatched an apple, some grapes, and a few slices of bread. He got some cold looks from those sitting at the table, but he ignored them as well.

Being friends with Clarisse meant that he was usually avoided by the other campers like he had the plague. This wasn't something he found a problem with. The less campers associated with him, got to know him, got to know the nature of what he did, the better. Besides, Charlie had always preferred solidarity over the company of others. It was just his nature.

Walking up to the central blazier, Charlie tossed the grapes and one of the slices of bread into the fire. Despite the fact that he was aware that he was a demigod for the majority of his life, Charlie still didn't know who his godly parent actually was. He had, however, narrowed it down to three possibilities; Apollo, Hermes, and Ares.

Now this didn't rule out any of the goddess' either, as Charlie had no idea which one of his parents was the mortal and which one was the god. In fact, he could argue that Artemis was the closest thing he had to a mother, but based upon the fact that she was a virgin goddess, he reluctantly ruled her out.

However he'd narrowed it down to these three based upon the evidence that had been presented. Apollo he figured was the most likely, based upon his skill with a bow and ranged weaponry. Hermes was the next likely, considering that Hermes was the god of thieves and travelers, and Charlie had found himself being skilled at both. Finally, Ares was a distant third because of his skill with weapons.

"Whomever you are, please, just give me a sign," he whispered to himself. He was greeted with the fresh sent of the wild, the kind of smell you get if you were standing in the woods on a nice spring day. He wasn't entirely sure what this meant, but it made him smile all the same. With that, he set off, going for a morning walk.

As he turned toward the woods, he finally spotted Clarisse. She was sitting in the amphitheater along with a blonde hair girl Charlie had never seen before. Between them was a set of maps, and both of them looked highly immersed into what they were discussing. Seeing nothing better to do, the hunter made his way over to them.

"Morning, Clare," he said The daughter of Ares' head snapped up, her eyes burning with rage as she held a dagger, ready to throw. She quickly stopped when she saw Charlie, and the anger faded from her eyes.

"Oh, morning Charlie," she said as she sat the knife back down. The blonde haired girl looked back and forth between the two. Clearly she had been expecting Clarisse to turn him into a smoldering crater, and the fact that she hadn't stunned her. Charlie either didn't notice, or didn't care.

"What ya up too?" he asked, looking at the maps.

"We've been trying to map out the Labyrinth from the surface based upon known entrances, but so far no luck," Clarisse answered.

"Clarisse, are you sure we can trust him?" the blonde asked.

"Oh, yeah. Annabeth this is Charlie, he's the guy who's been bringing me the locations of the entrances," Clarisse said. The girl, Annabeth, stood and held out her hand to shake.

"Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena." Charlie shook her hand.

"Charlie Theron, unclaimed," he replied.

"So who's team are you on tonight?" she asked. Charlie cocked his eyebrow in Clarisse's direction.

"Team?"

"We play Capture the Flag every Friday," she explained. Being unclaimed, he technically fell in with the Hermes Cabin.

"Which team is Hermes on?" he asked.

"Red, with us," Clarisse said, a grin forming on her face. After seeing the way Charlie operated in the field, she knew that he would be a valuable person to have on their team. Annabeth, however, didn't seem as thrilled.

"Great. You always get the new guys," she muttered.

"Why do I feel like I just got roped into something I'm going to regret?" Charlie asked.

* * *

He was right, he did regret this. Dusk was settling in as the teams prepared for the match in the dining pavilion. Red team, the team Charlie was currently on, consisted of Ares, Hermes, Dionysus and Hephaestus cabins, while Blue Team consisted of Athena, Apollo, Demeter, and Aphrodite. Weapons and armor were spread out over the tables, allowing the campers to arm themselves.

Charlie didn't pick up any armor, not even a helmet which was used to identify the teams. Instead he had on his poncho and had his bow and quiver. At first, he had complained that his rifle wasn't allowed to be used, especially when he heard that another camper, some guy from the Hephaestus Cabin used a shotgun. But Chiron had pointed out that the less people knew about his use of that weapon, the better, and he had reluctantly agreed.

"Heroes! You all know the rules. The entire woods are in play, the creek is the boundary line, all magical items are allowed, and absolutely no killing or maiming," Chiron announced. With that, the two teams began to head out to their side of the woods. As they walked, Clarisse put her arm around Charlie and pulled him in so that she could talk into his ear.

"Just so you know, you're our only decent archer. I need you to take down as many of the Apollo Cabin as you can," she said.

"Any idea where they'll be?" he asked.

"They like hiding in the trees. Just stick to that and do what comes natural," she replied before letting him go with a grin. Charlie shook his head after her, but hurried after the team all the same. When they reached the staging point, a small clearing in the middle of the woods, Charlie split off from the group.

He raised the hood on his poncho and climbed a nearby tree. Once he reached a decent height, he began to slip from tree to tree, making his way toward the creek with his bow at the ready. Reaching the creek, Charlie settled in, his eyes scanning the trees on the opposite bank like a hawk. He must have been the first one there on either team, because about five minutes later he noticed archers on the opposite bank climbing into the trees as well.

These guys wore a simple leather chest piece and helmet for identification, rather then the full on body armor the vast majority of both teams were wearing. They weren't expecting to be up close and personal in the fight, they fully expected to be picking targets as their own leisure, seeing as how Red Team didn't have any archers that could match their skill.

No one except Charlie that is.

Now he realized how much Clarisse's plan hinged on him. Without someone to counter the dead shots that made up the Apollo Cabin, half of Red Team's force would be down and out before they even made it to the creek. As he nocked an arrow, Charlie took great care to note where each and every archer was.

Based on what he had noted about the Apollo Cabin, Charlie figured this was only about half of the ones that were currently in Camp at the moment. The others must have been held back to play medic. With that, he quickly formed a plan of attack. He would take down these archers, about half a dozen or so and then move on and locate the enemy team Captain.

In the distance, a horn sounded, signaling the start of the game. A battle cry rose up from underneath as Red Team charged the boundary line. Charlie moved with them, jumping from one branch to the next as he descended upon the archers.

When he reached the first archer, the hunter drew his climbing axe and bashed him over the head. It wasn't enough to cause damage, just enough to knock him out. Charlie caught the kid before he could fall out of the tree and let him lay on the branch he'd been squatting on. He repeated the process with the next four, resorting to his bow to take down the last two when he felt that he was starting to run out of time. None of them had seen him coming, and that was exactly what he had been hoping for.

With his primary targets now down and out, Charlie turned his attention toward either locating the enemy team Captain, or their flag. He scanned the fighting below, but didn't see anyone who would have fit the profile. Turning toward the direction the enemy team had come from, Charlie set off deeper into enemy territory.

He stuck to the trees, moving from branch to branch like a limber cat. Occasionally a runner would pass underneath, and he'd have to pause to ensure that the person didn't hear him. But he was sure that he was going in the right direction, given that the runners kept coming and going in this direction.

Finally, he spotted it. The enemy flag was showing proudly atop a stack of boulders in the middle of a clearing. About a hundred feet away from it were a few guards. With the fighting so far away, they looked board just standing there in their armor. A hundred yards away at the other end of the clearing was the enemy team HQ.

Well, he wouldn't exactly call it an HQ, just a table someone had slapped down in the middle of the clearing. From his perch, Charlie could see a few blonde haired kids arguing back and forth. The Athena Cabin from what he had been told was always given command, given that Athena was the goddess of battle strategy. So it didn't come as a surprise that someone from the Athena Cabin was the Captain.

Sticking to his perch in the branches, Charlie slowly made his way around the clearing until he was near the HQ. Once there, he quietly lowered himself to the ground and hid in the underbrush, using the browns and greens to blend in. He then army crawled his way toward the table, stopping only when he was a few yards away.

"I'm telling you we need to reinforce the front line, they're gonna bash their way through if we don't," one of them argued.

"Malcolm, if we comment all of our reserve now, there will be nothing to defend the flag," a girl replied. Charlie realized that he recognized the voice. It was Annabeth, without a doubt.

"So what? This is Clarisse we're talking about, she's always been the 'smash them with the shield wall' type."

"That's what has me worried. We've beaten her the past five times. Clarisse maybe be stubborn and prideful, but she's not stupid. She'll change tactics if she sees that what's currently being done isn't working," Annabeth said.

"She'd have to try for infiltration if she wanted to get past our line. And from what our scouting reports are telling us, all of Hermes Cabin is currently locked on the front," Malcolm argued. The sound of footsteps running up reached Charlie's ears. He perked up, listening to see what the runner had to report.

"All of our archers at the creek have been knocked out," the kid reported, panting and out of breath from running with all that armor on him.

"Crap. That explains why the charge hit us with more force then we predicted," Malcolm said. Annabeth, however, remained quiet. This unnerved Charlie, and evidently her brother wasn't too comfortable with the silence as well.

"What is it, Annabeth?"

"Clarisse's team doesn't have any archers, so how did ours get taken down?" she asked. There was another pause, and the hunter could almost hear the gears turning in the young demigod's head.

"You don't think..."

"Someone got in. That's the only explanation.

"But who would be able to do that?"

"I don't..." Annabeth suddenly stopped, and Charlie felt a chill run down his spine. He knew that he had just popped into her head as a possibility.

"Deploy the reserve, have them spread out and search for intruders, now!" Annabeth ordered.

"Right!" the runner said before Charlie heard him running off.

"What are you thinking?" Malcolm asked.

"Clarisse was talking to a new guy this morning. When she found out he was on her team, she acted like she had just found a solution to all her problems," Annabeth answered.

"You think he could be the one who took down the archers?"

"I don't know. He said he was unclaimed, and I didn't see him long enough to get an assessment of his skills. For all we know he could be looking at the flag right now," Annabeth said. Charlie grinned to himself at that. It was time to see if he was just as skilled as he thought he was.

Springing up from his hiding spot, Charlie took off at a sprint. He slid across the table, right between Malcolm and Annabeth, tapping them both on the helmet as he past. Both of the siblings had their mouths hanging open in shock as his feet hit the ground on the other side of the table.

"Tag, your it!" he called over his shoulder as he took off toward the flag. Annabeth was the first to recover from her shock.

"You see? This is why we have a reserve!" she shouted before taking off after him. One of the guards, a scrawny teen dressed in full armor, noticed the approaching hunter and advanced. He swung his sword, but Charlie dived underneath the blade's arc. He rolled and came up with his climbing axe, catching the guard by the leg with it's hook like shape. In an instant, he had flipped the guard into the air and onto his back, and was running again like nothing had happened.

Slipping the axe back onto his belt, Charlie drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and let it fly. It bounced off the helmet of a second guard, knocking the kid out cold. The hunter re-shouldered his bow and continued on his flight, scrambling up the rocks toward the flag. Realizing what was happening, the remaining guard climbed as well, trying to stop him.

Charlie kicked the guard, planting his boot squarely in the bronze chest piece of armor and sending the poor kid tumbling backwards down the rock pile. He quickly drew a hunting knife and cut the flag free of its pole, having no intention of lugging the entire thing back toward his side. With that done, he tucked it into his belt before he turned and just barely managed to dodge a swipe from Annabeth's dagger.

In a flash, his climbing axe was in his hand again as he managed to catch the downward strike of Malcolm's sword. The two children of Athena pressed their attack, trying to knock him off balance. The rocks beneath their feet meant that no one had balanced footing, and Charlie knew that the longer he stayed here, the more likely reinforcements would arrive and overwhelm him.

Swinging his axe wide, Charlie intended to use the blunt side to at the very least throw his opponents off balance. Annabeth ducked under the swing, but Malcolm was too slow, taking the axe to the helmet with a resonating _kong_. The son of Athena saw stars and fell down the pile like his comrades, leaving only his half sister to face the flag thief. Annabeth attempted an upwards stab, but Charlie caught her blade with his axe and knife, locking them together.

"That belongs to me," Annabeth hissed in anger as she struggled to get her knife free.

"Come get it," Charlie replied before breaking loose of the blade lock. He scrambled over the rocks and jumped, catching a low hanging branch before pulling himself upward. Below, he could hear Annabeth coming after him, screaming orders toward her team the whole time. Returning his knife and axe to his belt, he climbed through the branches back toward his side. As he went, the hunter scanned the ground below him.

It wasn't long before he found himself over the main battle. Armored figures with red plumbs of horse hair on their helmets were staying in a tight formation, bashing against another formation of figures with blue. Just behind the red formation, standing at least a head taller then most of the others was Clarisse. Her helmet had long vanished, and she was shouting orders at her team while brandishing her spear.

Charlie came to a halt, leaning in a v shape where a tree's main trunk branched off into several smaller branches. He pulled the flag from his belt and stabbed an arrow through it before drawing and nocking his bow. Pursing his lips, he let out a high pitch of a whistle. It was enough to get the leader of Red Team's attention. He let the arrow fly, sticking it into the dirt at her feet. She looked back up at him with a bewildered look, to which he grinned and gave a two fingered salute.

Snapping out of her shock, Clarisse yanked the flag free of the arrow before shouting at her team, ordering a retreat in order to cover her back to the creek. Charlie turned in order to fire arrows at Blue Team and cover their retreat, only to find the pommel of Annabeth's dagger impacting right in between his eyes.

The hunter lost his balance and fell, tumbling from his perch and impacting a few branches on the way down. He landed flat on his stomach, the air being forced out of his lungs. Gasping and in pain, Charlie recovered his bow and began to hurry away from the fighting. His job was done, now it was time to slip away.

Pain resonated in his side under his left arm, just below the armpit. He'd hit a branch pretty hard on the way down and probably cracked a rib or two as a result. It slowed him down, but it was still something he could manage. As the sounds of battle began to fade behind him, Charlie realized that he was being followed. They were trying to be stealthy, but the bed of dead leaves that blanketed the ground from the previous fall was making that almost impossible.

Stopping, Charlie turned and dropped his bow. The pain in his side made using it a hassle and if he missed his first shot he'd be totally vulnerable. Instead, he drew his axe again and stood with his right side toward his follower, waiting. He could hear the crunch of feet on leaves, but still couldn't see anything.

"You're wasting your time coming after me," he said. The air shimmered, and Annabeth appeared a Yankees cap in her hand.

"Am I?" she asked.

"I don't have the flag, so yeah, you are."

"The fact that you even have to say anything clearly shows that you don't know that much about strategy," she said. In the distance, a horn sounded, singling the end of the game.

"You lost, Annabeth," he said.

"A good strategist learns from their defeats and turns them into victories," Annabeth replied, "I underestimated you this time. It won't happen again." With that, the daughter of Athena put her cap back on and vanished, leaving Charlie to wonder if he had just made a new enemy.

* * *

"So what's the target this time?" Clarisse asked. They were standing in front of the Ares Cabin, the sound of heavy metal flowing from inside. Charlie motioned for his friend to follow. Even with the music, it was better to be on the move when discussing the nature of his missions.

"A makeshift weapons foundry near San Francisco. Apparently Hephaestus still has control of all the major forges, so the Titans have been forced to set up their own shop to make weapons," he answered.

"What are the details?"

"Vague, as usual," he said before handing her a butternut colored file. The daughter of Ares opened the file and did a quick scan over what was inside.

"Doesn't seem like it would be too hard to pull off. Five or six bundles of TNT and Greek Fire should do it," she said.

"That's what I was thinking."

"Remember to restock on monster killer rounds before you head out. You don't wanna get stuck out there being defenseless," she said as she closed the file and handed it back to him.

"Hey, I learned my lesson. That's why I carry a back up now," he said, patting his hip where a Smith and Wesson Scofield rested in a holster. He'd taken the gun as a trophy off of a harpy that had been posing in a wild west show in Texas. The break top revolver served well as a back up weapon, and he could easily switch the rounds between mortal and monster killer with lightning speed.

"Just come back in one piece, Charlie," Clarisse said, her voice containing a hint of sadness. Charlie's eyes narrowed as he studied his friend. He may not have been very good with emotion, but he was in tune enough with her to notice when something was off.

"Chris isn't getting better, is he?" he asked. Just about every day since they had first arrived back in Camp, Clarisse had gone to Chris' side in the infirmary to see if his condition had improved. Every day, it was the same old story. A young man, caught within the grip of madness. It was a sad sight to see, and an even sadder sight to see how it effected Clarisse.

"No. I've tried everything I can think of. None of the Apollo Cabin or even Chiron knows what to do. I'm worried we're gonna lose him," she said. She was being unlike herself with how open she was with her feelings. Chris had a profound impact on Clarisse, and if it was effecting her like this, then Charlie had a good idea on his condition.

"He'll pull through, Clare," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder, "the guy made it through the Labyrinth by himself. He's tough, he'll beat this." Clarisse let out a shuttering sigh, like she had just taken a massive load off her shoulders.

"You're right. Thanks Charlie," she said before giving him a playful punch to the arm. Evidently she didn't know her own strength, as Charlie's arm went dead. Regardless, the hunter gave her another pat on the shoulder before heading off to collect his gear. He only got about a hundred yards before he heard the sound of footsteps crunching without any feet nearby but his own. He let out a groan and came to a halt.

"How much did you hear?" he asked. The air shimmered and Annabeth appeared.

"Just something about a weapons foundry near San Francisco that you're going to blow up," she answered.

"Do yourself a favor, Chase. Forget everything, and don't tell a soul," he said before he turned and started to walk away.

"I want to know what you're up to."

"Ask Chiron."

"I did, he said to ask you." Charlie came to a halt, but didn't turn to face the daughter of Athena.

"You're not going to stop pestering me until I say, are you?" he asked.

"I need to know all the assets we have if we're going to stand a chance at win this war," she replied. For the longest time, Charlie was silent. Then, finally, he sighed and hung his head.

"Go to Clarisse. Ask her about Operation Hunter, and then tell her authorization code theta. That's how she'll know I've given you clearance on the subject," he said before walking again.

"Where are you going?" she called after him.

"West. I've got an appointment to keep."

 _Near San Francisco. Three days later._

Charlie knelt in the middle of the ruins of the camp, studying the scorched earth, burnt tents, and dust that was scattered about. He'd come here expecting to find the target intact and well guarded. Instead, he'd found the camp in ruins and the monsters involved turned to dust. It wasn't that he was mad that someone had stolen his kills, in fact he was happy that he didn't have to be the one who went through the effort it took to torch this place.

No, what he was right now was concerned. As far as he knew, there were no Olympian forces in the Bay Area. Even the Hunters of Artemis, a group that tended to wander off on their own more often, was far away in Montana right now. And if there were no Olympian groups in the area, then who had torched the Titan camp?

Studying the ground, the hunter quickly found what he was looking for; tracks to follow. There were several of them, human, mainly young adults based upon their size. From what he could tell, there were at least a dozen of them, and they appeared to be well organized. Unslinging his rifle, Charlie began to follow the prints out of the wrecked camp.

What he was after was intel. If the attackers were a group of rouge demigods, Chiron and the Camp would have to be notified immediately. A group like that wandering around this close to the base of the Titans was only a recipe for disaster. If they could be convinced to fight for the gods, then he may have just stumbled across a major boost in the helping of their war effort.

Charlie followed the tracks for about an hour, until he finally came to a low ridge. Lying prone, he gazed at the sight below him. There was what appeared to be a service tunnel, guarded by two figures in armor. He raised his rifle and used the scope to get a better look. What he saw left him confused. He blinked and rubbed his eyes to be sure he wasn't seeing things. But when he peered through the scope again, they were still there.

"Romans?" he asked aloud. Now he was really confused. He needed to get into contact with Chiron and find out what was going on.

"Oh you better believe it, pal," came a voice from over his shoulder. Charlie rolled over on his back to find himself looking at a well built blonde haired teen grinning down at him. He was wearing a purple t shirt, and holding a sword in his hand. The hunter's observations immediately stopped as the newcomer brought the pommel of the sword down, knocking him out cold.

 **And Cut. So, Charlie has stumbled across the Roman Camp. How will this play out? Let me know what you guys thought, drop a review, send a PM, and I'll see you all next time.**


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